


Under the trees and shooting stars

by croissantbleu



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: ? kinda, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Entomophobia, Fluff, Forests, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Strangers to Friends, Summer Vacation, can be read as platonic though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2017-10-01
Packaged: 2019-01-07 14:34:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12234867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/croissantbleu/pseuds/croissantbleu
Summary: Dan’s parents have insisted that he comes with them on a family holiday at a hiking camp in the middle of the woods, and he isn’t too happy about that for various reasons. Until he meets the son of the owners, who works there





	Under the trees and shooting stars

Dan had his eyes shut, his headphones playing Muse at a volume he was probably going to regret one day. He felt the car take a right turn, another, and then stop. Only then, he opened his eyes and looked outside.

His parents had insisted that he came with them on a lovely family trip up in the mountains. Honestly, they hadn't exactly left him a choice.

And, really, he could appreciate the fresh air and the pretty views, but this whole expedition was supposed to make him go hiking with his parents and that was a  _ giant _ nope. And not something he was going to change his mind about. 

He got out of the car and put his backpack on, before going to the trunk to help carry the smaller bags first, they'd have to come back once they got the keys to the cabin. They didn't bring too much stuff, thankfully. They weren't going to stay too long anyway, just three weeks. It was a hot summer day, and now that he had taken his headphones off, he could hear the cacophony of the cicadas in the trees. 

Dan's dad took the lead, and Dan looked around to see how was the camp-thingy. There was a dozen cabins organised around a particular one, much bigger than the other ones and with a second floor. He guessed it was the main lodge, and his hypothesis was confirmed when his dad walked inside. Dan followed him. They were greeted by a woman behind the desk, well in her fifties.

“Hello,” she said happily. “And welcome! You must be the Howell family. Did you have a nice trip?”

“Yes, thank you. And yes, that's us,” Dan's dad smiled.

“Very good,” she chirped. “Here, these are your keys, you have the cabin 7, just a bit on your right when you'll be outside. Take your time to make yourself at home, if you want us to give you a tour of the glade, my son would be more than glad to help you.”

“Thank you,” his dad nodded as he took the keys. “We'll think about it, thanks for the offer.”

“You're welcome! I hope you enjoy your stay.”

Dan smiled at her before following his dad out of the lodge.

It took about half an hour before all the bags were unpacked and everything in its place. The cabin was quite big, with two bedrooms, a small kitchen, and a bathroom. There was a tiny living room as well, composed of a couch and a few books about the region and the woods, etcetera. Dan was glad to have brought his own books.

His mum had decided that a tour of the glade seemed like a great idea, and they were now walking back to the lodge. The same woman was behind the desk and smiled at them.

“Are you taking up on the offer for the tour?”

“We are,” Dan's mum answered. “If that's not a bother, of course.”

“Oh no, not at all! Let me just get my son, I'll be back in a minute.”

She opened the door behind the next, and walked up the stairs. It didn't take long before the door opened again, and the woman - Dan really needed to catch her name, calling her “the woman” for three weeks was going to be annoying - came back in the room, followed by a guy barely older than Dan.

“Here's my son, Phil,” she said. “He will show you around.”

“Follow me,” Phil smiled. “This won't take too long, don't worry.”

Of  _ course _ the guy working here had to be ridiculously pretty. Dan shoved his hands in his jacket’s pockets. That was unfair. They walked outside, Dan's parents between Phil and him. Dan barely listened as he explained the mapping of the area. He would spend enough time walking around to find what he needed by himself. 

He was aware he was not making a great first impression, but he really had no desire to be here and couldn't have cared less. He just wanted to be safely at home instead of here, also known as his personal piece of hell on earth.

The little tour didn't take long, there wasn't much to be seen, really. People didn't come here to stay in their cabin, the main idea was to go hiking in the woods for hours. Yay. Phil said goodbye and told them again to not hesitate if they needed anything, before they went back to their cabin. It was already quite late, and they didn't waste time before having a quick dinner and heading straight to bed. Dan took some time to sort out the books he had brought, but he didn't last long either. Car rides were tiring.

* * *

It was only the first day, and Dan was already awfully bored. At least the signal was quite good, but he was going to use up all his data way before the end of those three weeks.

He sighed and decided to walk around for a bit, earphones on. It was warm, probably too warm for him to be wearing jeans, but he did anyway. 

It was like walking in a place devastated by a zombie apocalypse. There was nobody around, everyone had gone into the woods already. The weather was too nice to stay inside. Dan checked the time. It was just after 2 PM, he guessed people would start coming back in an hour or two. He took his earphones out and listened to the silence. It was too hot for the cicadas to keep singing. It was… surreal. The city was never this quiet, even during the darkest hours of the night. Dan wasn't sure he liked the silence better. He felt like something was going to jump at him at any second. 

He turned around and started to walk back to his cabin. He usually appreciated being alone, but something about all the empty cabins and paths was just too creepy for him. Just as he walked past the main lodge, the guy - Phil - walked out. 

“Oh, hi,” Phil smiled. “I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name yesterday.”

“Hi, I'm Dan. Sorry, I was just... heading back to the cabin.”

“Did you go hiking?”

“No, that's, uh, that's not really my thing actually,” Dan grimaced.

“What do you mean, you don't love walking for hours in the middle of the woods?” Phil laughed, and Dan thought maybe he wasn't that bad. “You must be pretty bored though, everyone comes here to hike.”

“I manage,” Dan shrugged. “Don't worry. I got loads of books.”

“Well, if you ever have enough of those books, I'm here most of the time. Not supposed to go anywhere in case someone needs anything, but there's never anyone around,” he smiled. “So yeah. Have a good rest of the day, anyway.”

“Thank you,” Dan smiled a little. “You too.”

Phil smiled back at him and walked away. Dan went back to his own cabin, somehow a little reassured to know he wasn't the only one here. At least, if the zombie apocalypse did happen, it'd be easier to survive with someone else than on his own. Dan had always thought he would be shit as surviving alone. He was barely surviving college already.

* * *

Dan didn't see Phil again for a while after that day. But that was mostly his fault for staying inside. It was too warm for him, and the only moment when the heat was acceptable was during the night.

This time, he was walking outside a lot earlier than he used to, mainly to avoid his parents. The cohabitation wasn't exactly easy, and it hadn't even been a week yet.

“Hey, Dan!”

He looked around for a second before seeing Phil waving at him on his left. He walked up to him.

“Hi.”

“Haven't seen you around much,” he smiled. “Did you finally gave in the hiking?”

“Far from it,” Dan chuckled slightly. “I'm actually hiding from my parents before they drag me by force.”

Phil sat on the small wall behind him.

“You could always agree to go on a small walk with them, like for an hour, so they'd leave you alone?” he suggested.

“No, that wouldn't work. I'm used to it,” Dan shrugged. “They'll have enough of it eventually, and they'll stop. In the meantime, I'm just walking around.”

Phil was about to say something when someone called his name. He looked up behind Dan and grimaced.

“Sorry, duty calls. Good luck with your parents, anyway.”

He jumped off of the wall and smiled one last time before walking away. How was that guy always smiling? That was the real mystery here, maybe even more than “Why the fuck are all these people here anyway”. 

Dan sighed and walked for a few more minutes. He considered hiding in the tiny shop for a while before deciding that was a bad idea, and simply went back to the cabin.

* * *

_**Phil's pov** _

Phil had to admit, something about Dan was intriguing. He didn't fit in with the typical kind of people Phil saw coming here every summer, even if his parents had more or less forced him to come with them.

Or maybe he was just getting bored too, he thought. His parents had insisted that he stayed there when everyone else was gone, even if he would much rather be into the woods. Not to mention the heat was becoming too much for him to handle.

The evening was the only moment where he could really just go out and walk around without internally melting. Maybe he could go hike into the forest for an hour or two later, the sun would be up long enough. And he knew his way around here enough anyway, it wasn't as if this would be the first time. He blew on an ant on his arm to make it leave and looked up, noticing Dan and his family eating outside of their cabin. That wasn't a bad idea, it had cooled down enough to be almost nice.

He was just about to walk away and leave them alone when Dan stood up suddenly, nearly sending his chair to the ground. His dad sighed, as if that was a common occurrence, and probably told him to sit back down. Phil was too far to hear, or to see what happened. He was close enough to see that Dan looked genuinely terrified, and on the verge of a panic attack. Phil was debating walking up to them to make sure everything was alright, or not do that because that was a bit creepy, when Dan took his plate and went back inside. His mum shook her head and just went back to eating.

Phil frowned. Something was off. But there wasn't much he could do now, and after one last look to the door Dan had disappeared behind, he started walking again and went home.

*

Phil saw Dan again that evening. He had decided to go hike through the woods for a bit, and he was nearly at the beginning of the path he had chosen when he noticed Dan sitting on the wall on his left, knees brought up against his chest.

“Hey,” he said, not too loud to avoid startling him.

Dan jumped anyway, before calming down.

“Oh, it's you.” He took a look at Phil's bag. “Isn't it a bit late to go hiking?”

“Never,” Phil smiled. He sat down next to him. “Everything's okay?”

“Yeah,” he looked down at the ground. “Don't worry about me, you should go before it gets too dark.”

“You don't look like it,” Phil said carefully. “What happened earlier? When you were eating?”

“Nothing,” Dan said quickly. “I just- I thought something was on my plate and I freaked out. That's all.” He glanced up at Phil and sighed. “I'm entomophobic, alright? I'm fucking terrified of insects. And yeah, I know it's useless and weird and I  _ know _ they wouldn't be able to hurt me or anything, but honestly? Put me in front of a damn grasshopper and I'll have a complete meltdown.”

“Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't know. Is that why you won't go into the woods?”

Dan nodded. “There's too many of them. Even at night. It's alright here, but at some point it's unbearable. Aren't you going to laugh at me?”

Phil frowned.

“What? No, of course not. It’s not your fault, you can't do much about it.”

Dan shrugged and put his chin on his knees.

“Even my parents kinda make fun of me for it so, I get it. I know it's stupid, and irrational.”

“Yeah, well, that is more or less the definition of a phobia, right?”

“I guess,” Dan smiled.

“See?” Phil smiled back. “Your parents are wrong. And you're welcome in our cabin anytime you want if staying by yourself gets too boring, I'm always there anyway.”

“Yeah, thank you. Now go before it's too late or you'll blame me.”

Phil chuckled.

“You're right. Goodnight then, I'll see you around?”

“Probably? I mean, yeah. Goodnight.”

* * *

_**Dan's pov** _

Dan almost had to force himself to push open the main cabin’s door, despite what Phil told him the day before. The afternoon was already quite advanced and there wasn't anyone to be seen anywhere. The boredom had gotten too much. It was ridiculous, getting nervous about this. But nothing seemed to make sense, lately. He shouldn't even be here in the first place. He held back a sigh and stepped inside. 

Phil was sitting behind the desk, his feet crossed on it, and visibly absorbed by whatever he was reading. He looked up when he heard the door open and his face broke into a grin.

“Hey! I was wondering if you'd come.”

“It's creepy when there's no-one, like that,” Dan just said. “I'm just being prepared in case of a zombie apocalypse.”

That was weird. Why did he say that? He could've said literally anything else, why the fuck did he go with the zombie apocalypse? He was going to punch himself.

Phil laughed. “You're right, that's something that should always be kept in mind. Can't be too cautious with the zombie apocalypse. Man I can't believe I let my guard down.”

Dan relaxed a little. Alright, that could've gone worse. 

“You gotta be ready, you know. Just in case.”

“I’m always ready,” Phil said. “I’ve been here every summer since I was born, nobody knows this place better than I do.”

“See? I’m just increasing my chances of survival by staying with you. It’s all strategy,” Dan smiled.

“And a good one at that.” Phil chuckled a little, before standing up. “Alright, strategic boy, I have some work to do for once, sorry I know I said you could stop by when you wanted but…”

“I could help you?” Dan offered. “Depending on what you need to do.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind? It’s not a lot, really, just have to check up on the stocks, and when my parents come back I’ll go in town to get what is missing.”

“I’m sure. Besides, it’s not as if I had anything better to do. Let’s get started then, shall we?”

*

“Is there anything else?” Phil asked.

“Nope! Nothing I can see anyway,” Dan shouted back, standing on tiptoe to try and see the back of the shelf.

“Okay, great! We’re done here then.”

Dan navigated his way back to Phil, who smiled at him and checked the time.

“My dad should be back in just a few minutes, and I’ll have to go in town to buy what we need. You can come if you want, it’s just about half an hour away from here so we should get back in two hours or so.”

“Yeah sure, if you don’t mind me coming, I’ll be glad to see something else than those cabins for once,” Dan smiled.

Phil laughed. “That’s the real reason why I’m always the one doing this, so I get it. And yes, you’re more than welcome! The car ride isn’t particularly interesting, I have to admit.”

“I don’t think that a lot of car rides are fascinating Phil, I doubt this one will be too disappointing.”

“If you say so, it’ll be too late to change your mind once you realize your mistake anyway! Let’s go, that way we won’t be back too late.”

“Good idea, I think I’d rather not arrive here in the middle of the night, y’know.”

Phil laughed again and shook his head as he turned around.

“It’s not going to take  _ that _ long either, don’t worry.”

They chatted a bit more on the way to Phil’s lodge.

“Hey Phil, have you checked everything we need?” the man at the desk said. He looked up quickly and noticed Dan. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you. Can we help you?”

Dan felt safe assuming that was Phil’s dad.

“That’s Dan, he’s kind enough to help me out today,” Phil smiled. “And yeah I’ve got a list of what I need to get, so we’re gonna go now if you don’t need me for anything?”

“Nope I’m fine here. Nice to meet you Dan, by the way, my name is John. I hope you are enjoying your stay?”

“Yes, thank you, I am ,” Dan smiled. “And nice to meet you too.”

“We have to go now though, bye Dad, see you later!” Phil said as he grabbed the keys on the counter and started walking away, Dan following him.

“Be home before dark,” John warned. “You do not want to be out there when the wolves come out…”

Phil laughed loudly, and turned around to face Dan.

“He’s joking, don’t worry. There are no wolves around here, it’s just an old joke at this point. Just in case you were wondering. There are more chances of a zombie apocalypse happening than of a wolf being seen here. Not that a zombie apocalypse is very probable either, that was the point of saying that. I should just stop talking, shouldn’t I?”

“Maybe, yes,” Dan chuckled. “Also be careful or you’ll walk into a tree.”

“Good call,” he turned back to face the path. “To the car we go.”

“Who are you now, Yoda?” Dan smiled.

“Oh shut up.”

*

“So, what are you doing? In life, I mean. Apart from helping your parents run a hiking place,” Dan asked.

They’d been driving in silence for a couple of minutes now. Not that it was an awkward silence though, it was quite a comfortable one, surprisingly enough.

“I’m studying filmmaking at uni,” Phil smiled. “It’s pretty interesting honestly, a bit boring at times depending on the classes, but I’m enjoying it so far. I’m only helping out here during the summer, it’s nice to be able to come back to the calm sometimes.”

“I can imagine,” Dan chuckled. “Uni life is pretty chaotic, to be fair. I can see how coming back here could be nice.”

“What about you, what’s taking up your time?”

“Uni too, actually. I’m following an English course, I’d like to be a teacher at some point. Maybe. I’m not too sure yet but yeah. That’s an idea I have.”

“Hey, no need to be sure now. You still have time to think about it, and even if you change your mind later it’ll be alright.”

“Yeah, I guess you're right. It's just a bit stressful at times.”

Phil shot him an understanding glance before looking back at the road.

“I know how it is, but really, try not to stress yourself too much over it. I'm sure you'll be just fine.”

“Thanks,” Dan smiled. “I'll try.”

Phil smiled back at him and turned on the music, Radiohead coming from the speakers. Dan rested his head back on the seat and hummed in appreciation. 

The rest of the drive went by quickly enough, and before Dan knew it they were coming back out of the shop, arms full of supplies and medical equipment.

“Thanks for helping me out,” Phil said for the hundredth time as he shut the trunk’s door. “It's much easier with someone else.”

Dan smiled and shook his head. “Stop thanking me for that, I appreciate any chance I have to get further from the forest, honestly. But we should get going now, before it gets too late.”

Phil nodded. “Yeah, you're right. Let's get back before the wolves come out.”

Dan just laughed and walked back to sit in the passenger's seat.

The way back was once again accompanied by Radiohead, and Dan closed his eyes, just for five minutes.

When he opened them again, Phil was lightly shaking his shoulder.

“Welcome back,” he chuckled. “We're here.”

Dan looked around. They were back at the glade. He couldn't believe he just fell asleep in the car like that.

“Ah shit, I'm sorry,” he stifled a yawn. “You should've woken me up sooner.”

“Nah, it's fine. It's not as if anything interesting happened anyway, you didn't miss much.” 

“Sorry,” he said again. “I'll help you carry everything inside.”

Phil smiled and got out of the car, Dan following him shortly. It didn't take long for them to bring back everything at the main cabin, Phil assuring Dan that he could handle it from there, and wishing him a good night. Dan made it back to his own cabin in no time.

* * *

Dan had spent most of his time hanging out with Phil after that, usually going through his books or playing video games while chatting. They had tried going for a walk outside but it was too hot and they quickly gave up, retreating inside to get an ice cream. A much better plan, if you asked Dan.

They found out that they surprisingly had a lot of shared interests,  especially music-wise. Dan hadn’t expected them to get along so well, he would’ve been happy to just have someone to kill time with. Phil had saved his life by generously given him access to the Wi-Fi, his data had been completely used up a while ago already and he had been suffering since. He really was the cliché of a city guy, but hey. He couldn’t really help it. 

At least, Dan’s parents seemed satisfied that he had stopped spending the whole day inside his room, even if he still refused to go hiking with them. He could understand that in their eyes, it was still progress. And he couldn’t really blame them, he wasn’t exactly known to be the most social person, in any circumstances. He usually was more than glad to stay on his own without having to care too much about other people. But he had to be prepared in the event of a zombie apocalypse, right?

*

The end of their stay here was approaching, and Dan was weirdly affected by it. He’d grown to really appreciate spending time with Phil, and he knew he shouldn’t have because now the goodbyes were going to be weird but what could he have done anyway? At least, it had made the three weeks a lot more enjoyable.

Dan pushed open the door to Phil’s cabin, and smiled when he saw him in the same position as always, sat on the chair and feet crossed on the desk.

“You know, you’re probably going to get in trouble for always having your feet on the desk,” he commented as he sat on the sofa in front of him.

Phil laughed. “What are they going to do, fire me? The season is ending soon anyway, I don’t think I’m risking too much. I should be fine.”

“I mean that’s your problem, not mine.”

Silence fell on the room for a bit after that, with Phil examining a map and Dan searching through a bunch of books on the forest. It was a comfortable silence though, both of them just appreciating having someone else with them.

“We’re leaving tomorrow,” Dan said eventually. “Early in the afternoon, I think.”

He looked up from the page on pine trees to see Phil looking at him.

“I know. You must be glad to go back to civilisation.”

“Yeah, I guess,” he shrugged. “I don’t know. I think I liked the calm, here.”

Phil smiled, and Dan hadn’t noticed the way he scrunched up his whole face and his eyes lit up until then.

“Would you come with me tonight? I want to show you something, before you leave.”

“Yeah, of course.”

*

It was already dark outside when Dan knocked on the door, and it took only a few minutes before Phil opened it. 

“Hi,” he said. “Let’s go. You aren’t afraid of heights, are you?”

Dan shook his head. “Nope, I’m fine on that point.”

“Good, it would’ve been a shame if you missed that! Come on, follow me,” Phil closed the door and started walking away.

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” Dan asked.

Phil turned around to give him a grin. “You’ll see in just a minute.”

Dan chuckled and shook his head, but walked up to him. The quiet was only disturbed by the cricket’s song, and Dan couldn’t help but tense up a little bit every time it sounded too loud and too close. Phil noticed and gently nudge his arm.

“You’re okay? We’re almost there, but we can go back if you don’t feel like it.”

“I’m fine,” Dan smiled, not sure if Phil could really see him with how dark it had gotten. “But thank you.”

“Alright. Okay, we’re here, can you help me get that ladder down please?”

Dan looked at the ladder leading to the flat roof of the tiny shop. He almost asked what this was about but changed his mind, and simply pulled on the bottom of the ladder to bring it down. Phil motioned for him to go first so he did, only to turn back and shot Phil a confused look when he was next to him on the roof.

“I wanted to do something with you before you left,” Phil shrugged. “And there happened to be a meteor shower today so I thought it'd be a good idea but you don't have to stay if you don't want to, of course.”

“No, no! That's a great idea,” Dan smiled. “Let's go sit down.”

The moon was shining just clear enough for him to see the look of relief on Phil's face.

“Don't worry about insects, by the way. They're busy flying around the lamp over there, they never come here.”

Dan smiled to thank him, and they both went to lay down on the blanket Phil had brought up earlier. It was comfortable enough that the tiles weren't digging too much into their backs, and Dan could forget the diffuse pain in his spine.

“I bet you've never seen the stars like that,” Phil said with a smile in his voice. 

Dan looked up and breathed deeply. He hadn't. The sky was so beautiful, the darkness covered in freckles of light, and the shining crescent almost painfully bright. He could see the Milky Way across the sky, clearer than he had ever seen it. There was a slight summer breeze, warm enough that they didn't get cold, but cool enough to wash away the suffocating heat of the day. He tried to say something, anything, but his voice wasn't obeying him.

“Look, a shooting star!” Phil exclaimed, pointing at it. “You have to make a wish now.”

“What was yours?” Dan asked after a few seconds, looking at him from the corner of his eyes.

“You know I can't tell you,” Phil turned his head towards him. “That would ruin it. And it's a good wish.”

“Yeah, I know. Just wanted to ask.”

“Wishes on shooting stars have always been important to me,” he confessed. “That's part of the reason why I come back here every summer, actually. I don't want to miss the season, and they're much easier to see in the middle of the woods than in Manchester.”

“Wait,” Dan propped himself up on his elbows. “You live in Manchester?”

“Well, yeah. That's where I go to uni. Why?”

Dan started laughing and let himself fall back on the blanket, barely wincing when he hit the tiles.

“That's where I'm studying too,” he eventually said when his laughter died down.

“You're kidding me.” Phil voice was laced with something close to amazement.

“Looks like you're going to be stuck with me for a while longer,” he smiled. “Look, another shooting star! Your turn to make a wish.” 

He turned his head to the side again, to find Phil looking at him with a smile on his lips.

“I already have.”

They stayed there for a few more hours, just talking about anything that came to mind, until they eventually both fell asleep. They were woken up by the dim light of first rays of sun in the early morning, and went back to their cabin to get a couple more hours of rest. Dan managed to make it back to his room without waking up his parents, and fell face first on his bed, still smiling.

He had barely enough time to pack up his belongings when he woke up again, before it was time to leave. And before he knew it, he was in the car, heading home, his eyes shut and his headphones playing Muse at a volume he was probably going to regret one day. 

But he was smiling this time, remembering the hug that Phil had given him just before he left, and the promise that they would see each other again once they were both back at uni. And Dan had to admit, he really was looking forward to spending time with Phil again.

Dan's mum was saying something, and he had to stop his music to understand what she was saying.

“Did you have a nice time out there, Dan?”

“Yeah,” he smiled. “I really did. Thank you.”

He’d had a much better time than he was expecting to. 

And no zombie apocalypse.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you everyone for reading!  
> you can find me on tumblr @ wavydanrises


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